Daytona Beach, FL - A Volusia County Sheriff's (VCSO) officer and his wife rescued a girl and her aunt from drowning in a Daytona Beach community pool.
While Sergeant Austin Hairston was off-duty on Friday, August 25, around 6:30 PM, he and his wife, Tammyann Hairston noticed someone drowning in the community pool located in the Grande Champion subdivision of Daytona Beach. According to VCSO, the officer and his wife saw a juvenile girl get knocked into the pool.
A woman jumped into the pool to help the girl, but the girl ended up panicking and pushing the woman under water. Tammyann Hairston jumped into the pool and grabbed the woman, but the woman began to panic as well, and she began flailing her arms and pushing the officer's wife away, according to VCSO.
When Sergeant Hairston noticed the girl going under water, he jumped into the pool, grabbed the woman and the girl with the help of his wife, and took them to the side of the pool. The girl was later identified as the woman's niece. Both of them were unharmed and declined medical treatment.
While Sergeant Hairston and his wife were also unharmed, his police-issued belt and his radio were damaged by the water.
"It think it's just an example of how these deputies and law enforcement officers are never really off the job. If they see something happening in front of them where they can make a difference, they will," says VCSO Public Information Officer Andrew Gant. "If that means jumping into the water with gun belt on and everything, that's what they'll do in order to save a life."
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